WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



131 



Later Lumber Operations. 



The first large mill to be located in the county was erected 

 at Porter in 1895. This mill has cut the timber from about 

 20,000 acres. E. L. Boggs has been operating a circular mill for 

 the past 15 years in Otter district and has cut over about 5,000 

 acres. M. Hardman and Company purchased 5,000 acres on 

 Standing Rock run and other streams and removed the timber 

 from the same during the years from 1895 to 1900. The logs 

 cut by this Company were splashed from the small streams into 

 Elk river where they were rafted and run to Charleston. W. S. 

 Lewis operated a stave and lumber saw mill from 1896 on Big 

 Laurel, Big Otter and head of Big Sandy creeks, cutting over 

 about 15,000 acres of virgin timber. C. L. Ritter Lumber Com- 

 pany began operating in 1899 and cut over about 26,000 acres 

 in the 10 years following. The David S. Collins Company be- 

 gan operating at Elkhurst in 1899 and cut the timber on 10,000 

 acres. This company was succeeded by Elkhurst Planing Mill 

 Company which completed the cutting on an additional 5,000 

 acre tract in 1906. Tidewater Oil Company operated on Big 

 Otter creek from 1900 to 1906, cutting the timber from 28,000 

 acres. The Leatherwood Lumber Company began operating on 

 Leatherwood creek in 1900 and cut the timber from a 1,300 acre 

 tract of land owned by the Jacob Tome Institute and C. C. 

 Lewis. Waggy and Gorrel have been cutting on Whetstone, 

 Little Laurel and Spread Shoal creeks since 1900, taking the 

 timber from about 5,000 acres. Mitchell and Good commenced 

 operating about 1904 and have cut the timber from 3,000 acres 

 of land drained by O'Brien creek. Shadle and Auchmuty be- 

 gan at Yankee Dam in 1906 and are engaged in removing the 

 timber from 2,000 acres on Elk river and Blue Knob creek. 

 Crescent Lumber Company has been in operation since 1907 

 and is engaged in cutting timber from a 10,000 acre tract. Of 

 those wht5 have manufactured staves in the county we may men- 

 tion D. G. Courtney, who operated stave mills on Buffalo creek 

 from 1904 to 1908, recutting about 10,000 acres which had been 

 cut over, originally, by The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, and 

 Tidewater Oil Company which, also, has manufactured large 

 numbers of staves in the county. 



